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After years of post- World War II instability, Argentina is today a fully functioning democracy. Former President Carlos Menem's administration (1989-99) reordered Argentina's foreign and domestic policies. His reelection in May 1995--in the face of hardships caused by economic restructuring and exacerbated by the Mexico peso crisis--provided a mandate for Menem's free-market economic strategy and pro-U.S. foreign policy. Menem's second term ended in December 1999; the constitution does not provide for a sitting president to succeed himself more than once. President Fernando de la Rua has continued the economic and foreign policy strategies begun by Menem. Néstor Kirchner is now president (2003).
The constitution of 1853, as revised in 1994, mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level. Each province also has its own constitution, roughly mirroring the structure of the national constitution. The president and vice president were traditionally elected indirectly by an electoral college to a single 6-year term and not allowed to seek immediate reelection. Constitutional reforms adopted in August 1994 reduced the presidential term to 4 years, abolished the electoral college in favor of direct voting, and limited the president and vice president to two consecutive terms; they are allowed to stand for a third term or more after an interval of at least one term. The president appoints cabinet ministers and the constitution grants him considerable power, including a line-item veto.
Provinces traditionally sent two senators, elected by provincial legislatures, to the upper house of Congress. Voters in the federal capital of Buenos Aires elected an electoral college which chose the city's senators. The constitution now mandates a transition (beginning in 2001) to direct election for all senators, and the addition of a third senator representing the largest minority party from each province and the capital. The revised constitution reduces senatorial terms from 9 to 6 years. One-third of the Senate will stand for reelection every 2 years.
Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to 4-year terms. Voters elect half the members of the lower house every 2 years through a system of proportional representation. Other important 1994 constitutional changes included the creation of a senior coordinating minister to serve under the president and autonomy for the city of Buenos Aires, which now elects its own mayor. The constitution establishes the judiciary as an independent government entity. The president appoints members of the Supreme Court with the consent of the Senate. Other federal judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a magistrates' council. The Supreme Court has the power, first asserted in 1854, to declare legislative acts unconstitutional.
The two largest political parties are the Justicialist Party (Partido Justicialista, or PJ), which evolved out of Juan Peron's efforts in the 1940s to expand the role of labor in the political process (see Peronism), and the Radical Civic UnionThe Radical Civic Union Union Civica Radical or UCR) is the foremost opposition party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. After the 2001 elections it be (Unión Cívica Radical, or UCR), founded in 1890. Traditionally, the UCR has had more urban middle-class support and the PJ more labor support, but both parties are now broadly based.
A grouping of mostly left-leaning parties and former Peronists – the Front for a Country in SolidarityThe Front for a Country in Solidarity Frente por un Pais Solidario or FREPASO is an opposition party in Argentina. After the 2001 elections it became the joint third largest party in the federal Chamber of Deputies, with 17 of 257 deputies. It campaigned (Frente por un País Solidario, or FREPASO) – emerged in the 1990s as a serious political contender, especially in the federal capital. In August 1997, the UCR and FREPASO formed a coalition called the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education (the Alliance). Smaller parties occupy various positions on the political spectrum and some are active only in certain provinces. Historically, organized labor (largely tied to the Peronist Party) and the armed forces also have played significant roles in national life. However, labor's political power has been significantly weakened by free market reforms, and the armed forces are firmly under civilian control. Repudiated by the public after a period of military rule (1976-83) marked by human rights violations, economic decline, and military defeat in the 1982 Falkland/Malvinas Islands conflictThe Falklands War or the Malvinas War ( Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas , was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas between March and June 1982. Though surprised by an Argentine attac, the Argentine military today is a downsized, volunteer force focused largely on international peacekeeping.